U.S. patent number 10,242,128 [Application Number 14/972,999] was granted by the patent office on 2019-03-26 for tools for customized design of dental restorations.
This patent grant is currently assigned to 3SHAPE A/S. The grantee listed for this patent is 3SHAPE A/S. Invention is credited to Tais Clausen, Nikolaj Deichmann, Rune Fisker.
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United States Patent |
10,242,128 |
Fisker , et al. |
March 26, 2019 |
Tools for customized design of dental restorations
Abstract
Tools in a system for the design of customized three-dimensional
models of dental restorations for subsequent manufacturing. Dental
restorations such as implant abutments, copings, crowns, wax-ups,
bridge frameworks. Moreover, a computer-readable medium for
implementing such a system on a computer. A system for designing at
least one dental restoration, said system including: a display,
means for acquiring and displaying a three dimensional dental
restoration model of the dental restoration, and means for
displaying a plurality of control points, each of the control
points corresponding to a respective location on the dental
restoration model, and each of said control points enabling manual
customization of the dental restoration model.
Inventors: |
Fisker; Rune (Virum,
DK), Clausen; Tais (Klagshamn, SE),
Deichmann; Nikolaj (Klagshamn, SE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
3SHAPE A/S |
Copenhagen K |
N/A |
DK |
|
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Assignee: |
3SHAPE A/S (Copenhagen K,
DK)
|
Family
ID: |
41665502 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/972,999 |
Filed: |
December 17, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160103935 A1 |
Apr 14, 2016 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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14730601 |
Jun 4, 2015 |
9289276 |
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14222761 |
Mar 24, 2014 |
9075937 |
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13119514 |
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8718982 |
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PCT/DK2009/050243 |
Sep 17, 2009 |
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61098255 |
Sep 19, 2008 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 18, 2008 [DK] |
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2008 01310 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
30/00 (20200101); B33Y 50/00 (20141201); A61C
5/77 (20170201); B33Y 80/00 (20141201); G16H
20/40 (20180101); A61C 8/005 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
5/77 (20170101); A61C 13/00 (20060101); B33Y
50/00 (20150101); G06F 17/50 (20060101); B33Y
80/00 (20150101); A61C 8/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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WO 2008/066891 |
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Jun 2008 |
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WO |
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Other References
3Shape Dental Designer 2005-2 User Manual, 2005, pp. 1-39. cited by
applicant .
3Shape Dental Designer 2007-1 User Manual, 2007, pp. 1-113. cited
by applicant .
Martin Vogel., "AutoCad LT Tutorial--Seite 27,"
http://www.martinvogel.de/acadlt/autocad-anleitung-tutorial-einfuehrung-2-
7.htm, 2008, p. 27, and English language translation of webpage.
cited by applicant .
Martin Vogel., "AutoCad LT Tutorial--Seite 10,"
http://www.martinvogel.de/acadlt/autocad-anleitung-tutorial-einfuehrung-1-
0.htm, 2008, p. 10, and English language translation of webpage.
cited by applicant .
Martin Vogel., "AutoCad LT Tutorial--Seite 18,"
http://www.martinvogel.de/acadlt/autocad-anleitung-tutorial-einfuehrung-1-
8.htm, 2008, p. 18, and English language translation of webpage.
cited by applicant .
Martin Vogel., "AutoCad LT Tutorial--Seite 19,"
http://www.martinvogel.de/acadlt/autocad-anleitung-tutorial-einfuehrung-1-
9.htm, 2008, p. 19, and English language translation of webpage.
cited by applicant .
Martin Vogel., "AutoCad LT Tutorial--Seite 6,"
http://www.martinvogel.de/acadlt/autocad-anleitung-tutorial-einfuehrung-6-
.htm, 2008, p. 6, and English language translation of webpage.
cited by applicant .
AutoCAD ("AutoCAD LT 2006: The Definitive Guide"). Wordware
Publishing. INC., 2005., 11 Pages. cited by applicant .
Official Action issued in corresponding Chinese Patent Application
No. 200980136606.5, dated Jan. 31, 2013, and English translation
thereof. cited by applicant .
International Search Report for PCT/DK2009/050243, dated Mar. 5,
2010. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Broome; Said
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
P.C.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/730,601, filed on Jun. 4, 2015, which is a continuation of
U.S. application Ser. No. 14/222,761, filed on Mar. 24, 2014, now
U.S. Pat. No. 9,075,937, which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/119,514, filed on May 31, 2011, now U.S.
Pat. No. 8,718,982, which is a U.S. national stage application of
International Application No. PCT/DK2009/050243, filed on Sep. 17,
2009, and which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 61/098,255, filed on Sep. 19, 2008, and which also claims the
priority of Danish Patent Application No. PA 2008-01310, filed on
Sep. 18, 2008. The contents of U.S. application Ser. No.
14/730,601, U.S. application Ser. No. 14/222,761, U.S. application
Ser. No. 13/119,514, International Application No.
PCT/DK2009/050243, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/098,255, and
Danish Patent Application No. PA 2008-01310 are incorporated herein
by reference in their entirety.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein the control
point is activated by moving the mouse cursor within a distance of
10 pixels from the control point.
2. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein the control
points only are visible when a mouse cursor is within a distance of
10 pixels from the dental restoration model.
3. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein only the
control points of the dental restoration model closest to a mouse
cursor are visible when two or more dental restoration models are
shown simultaneously.
4. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein the method
further comprises displaying on the display an arrow or a grid at
at least one of the control points, if an arrow, then a length of
said arrow is determined by a user defined value, whereby a
distance between the dental restoration model and neighboring
objects is indicated; and, if a grid, then a size of said grid is
determined by a user defined value, whereby the distance between
the dental restoration model and neighboring objects is
indicated.
5. The computer readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the
arrow or the grid of a control point is only displayed when said
control point is activated.
6. The computer readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the
length of the arrow or the size of the grid of a control point is
adjustable when the control point is activated.
7. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein the at least
one of the control points is only displayed when the mouse cursor
is within the predetermined distance of the at least one of the
control points.
8. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein a
functionality of at least one control point can be changed by a
user when said control point is activated.
9. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein a
functionality of at least one control point depends on the
orientation of the dental restoration model.
10. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the
method comprises displaying on the display a three dimensional
dental model of the patient's teeth in which three dimensional
dental model the dental restoration must be fitted.
11. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the
graphical user interface is configured to provide that the dental
restoration model is viewable through the dental model.
12. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein at
least a part of the dental model is invisible when said part of the
dental model is in front of the dental restoration model such that
the dental restoration model is viewable and accessible for the
user.
13. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein
transparency of the dental model is increased when a mouse cursor
is close to a control point beneath an occluding surface of the
dental model, whereby the control point and the dental restoration
model can be seen through the dental model.
14. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the
control points are located at the edges of the dental restoration
model.
15. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the
dental restoration is selected from the group consisting of an
implant abutment, a coping and a tooth crown.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a
computer program that causes a computer system to perform the
following operations: display on a display device of the computer
system a three-dimensional dental restoration model of a dental
restoration; providing a plurality of control points at the dental
restoration model, each of the control points corresponding to a
respective location on the dental restoration model; and in
response to user movement of a control point displayed on the
display device, changing an attribute of the dental restoration
model at the location corresponding to the control point, to
provide a dental restoration model for manufacturing a customized
dental restoration, wherein at least one of the control points is
displayed by activating by moving a mouse cursor within a
predetermined distance of the at least one control point.
17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the attribute
is a dimension of the dental restoration model.
18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the attribute
is a shape of the dental restoration model.
19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the attribute
is an orientation of the dental restoration model.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a
computer program that causes a computer system to perform the
following operations: display on a display device of the computer
system a three-dimensional dental restoration model of a dental
restoration; display on the display device a plurality of control
points at the dental restoration model, each of the control points
corresponding to a respective location on the dental restoration
model; and in response to user movement within a predetermined
distance from a control point displayed on the display device:
displaying an arrow adjacent to the dental restoration model, the
length of said arrow determined by a user defined value, whereby
the distance between the dental restoration model and neighboring
objects can be measured or indicated; or displaying a grid adjacent
to the dental restoration model, the size of said grid determined
by a user defined value, whereby the distance to neighboring
objects can be indicated, to provide a dental restoration model for
manufacturing a customized dental restoration.
21. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the control
point is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a distance of 10
pixels from the control point.
22. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the control
points only are visible when a mouse cursor is within a distance of
10 pixels from the dental restoration model.
23. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein only the
control points of the dental restoration model closest to a mouse
cursor are visible when two or more dental restoration models are
shown simultaneously.
24. A non-transitory computer readable medium embedded with a
computer program providing a graphical user interface for a
computer system for designing at least one dental restoration by a
method comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a
three dimensional dental restoration model of the dental
restoration, and providing a plurality of control points at the
dental restoration model, each of the control points corresponding
to a respective location on the dental restoration model and each
of said control points being user-adjustable to manually customize
the dental restoration model, wherein at least one of the control
points is activated by moving a mouse cursor within a predetermined
distance of the at least one control point, wherein the method
further comprises displaying on the display an arrow or a grid at
the at least one of the control points only when the at least one
of the control points is activated.
25. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein a
functionality of at least one control point is variable.
26. The computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein a
functionality of the at least one control point is variable.
27. The computer readable medium according to claim 26, wherein the
functionality of the at least one control point can be changed by a
user when said control point is activated.
28. The computer readable medium according to claim 26, wherein
providing the control points includes displaying the control points
at the dental restoration model.
29. A method of providing a graphical user interface for a computer
system for designing at least one dental restoration by a method
comprising: displaying on a display of the computer system a three
dimensional dental restoration model of the dental restoration, and
providing a plurality of control points at the dental restoration
model, each of the control points corresponding to a respective
location on the dental restoration model and each of said control
points being user-adjustable to manually customize the dental
restoration model, wherein at least one of the control points is
only visible on the display when the mouse cursor is within a
predetermined distance of the at least one of the control point.
Description
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure relates to tools in a system for the design
of customized three-dimensional models of dental restorations for
subsequent manufacturing. Dental restorations such as implant
abutments, copings, crowns, wax-ups, bridge frameworks. Moreover,
the disclosure relates to a computer-readable medium for
implementing such a system on a computer.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure is related to the field of designing and
manufacturing of dental restorations such as crowns, bridges,
copings, abutments and implants. When a patient requires a dental
restoration the dentist will prepare the teeth e.g. a damaged tooth
is grinded down to make a preparation where the crown is glued
onto. An alternative treatment is to insert implants (titanium
screws) into the jaw of the patient and mount crowns or bridges on
the implants.
CAD technology for manufacturing dental restorations is rapidly
expanding resulting in improved quality, reduced cost and
facilitation of the possibility to manufacture in attractive
materials otherwise not available. The first step in the CAD
manufacturing process is to create a 3-dimensional dental model of
the patient's teeth. This is provided by 3D scanning of one or both
of the dental gypsum models or by scanning impressions of the
teeth. The 3-dimensional replicas of the teeth are imported into a
CAD program, where the entire dental restoration or a bridge
substructure is designed. The final restoration 3D design is then
manufactured e.g. using a milling machine, 3D printer, rapid
prototyping manufacturing or other manufacturing equipment.
Accuracy requirements for the dental restorations are very high
otherwise the dental restoration will not be visual appealing, fit
onto the teeth, could cause pain or cause infections.
Systems for designing dental restorations are known in the art,
e.g. 3Shape DentalDesigner.TM. and 3Shape AbutmentDesigner.TM.,
which are generally used by dental specialists such as dental
technicians. Users of such design tool systems are working with a
three dimensional dental model of the patient trying to fit the
dental restoration model into the dental model. During dental
restoration of a patients teeth the typical procedure could be to
secure an implant abutment in the jaw of the patient, a coping is
then attached (e.g. by glue) to the abutment and finally a crown is
glued onto the coping. However, both abutment, coping and crown
must be designed to fit the patient, both physically and visually.
I.e. the abutment, the coping and the crown must be customized for
each tooth of each patient.
In the following the term "dental restoration" can be an implant
abutment, a coping, a crown or any combination of these.
Correspondingly a "dental restoration model" can be an abutment
model, a coping model, a crown model or any combination of
these.
In the design phase of a dental restoration a three dimensional
model of the dental restoration is typically provided by the system
and the task of the dental specialist is to shape the dental
restoration model to provide a perfect fit in the dental model,
whereby the patient can end up with a tooth implant that matches
the other teeth of the patient. A dental specialist (i.e. a user of
the system) is typically working with a dental model with at least
one attached dental restoration model on a screen and the 3D models
can typically be rotated around any axis, zoomed, panned and the
like. Thus the user will typically be able to specify and change
the orientation and viewing angle of the dental model and the
dental restoration model. The task of a user is to shape and
customize the dental restoration model into the dental model by
translating, rotating, dragging, tilting, widening and/or narrowing
the 3D dental restoration model (which preferably is fixed in the
dental model). This is typically provided by use of an electronic
screen pointing tool, such as a mouse, a ball pen or the like. In
the following any reference to a "mouse cursor" or a "mouse marker"
is a reference to the element on the screen representing the
electronic screen pointing tool.
The dental restoration model can be customizably shaped by means of
the pointing tool by shaping ("dragging") the dental restoration
model with origin in specific points on the dental restoration
model. These points are in the following termed "control points"
and can be seen in FIG. 1. The control points are typically located
in carefully and preferably automatically selected positions on the
dental restoration model. For example in FIG. 1 showing an abutment
model where the control points are located on the top center, each
of the four sides and around the lower bottom rim (i.e. the lower
collar of the abutment).
SUMMARY
When creating a dental restoration model certain rules must be
applied, for example in terms of distance to adjacent teeth and
gingival ridge and integration into the gingival. Measuring and
checking these distances can be a cumbersome process during the
design and creation of a dental restoration model, thus an object
of the disclosure is to provide an intuitive and quick indication
of distances between neighboring and adjacent objects in the
process of creating a custom dental restoration.
This is achieved by a system for designing at least one dental
restoration, said system having a display, such as a computer
screen, and comprising: means for acquiring and displaying a three
dimensional model of the dental restoration and/or a three
dimensional dental model wherein the dental restoration must be
fitted, means for displaying a plurality of control points at the
three dimensional model of the dental restoration, the control
points preferably located at the edges of the dental restoration
model and each of said control points providing means for manually
customizing the dental restoration model.
The disclosure further relates to method for designing at least one
dental restoration at a display, a display such as a computer
screen, said method comprising the steps of: acquiring and
displaying a three dimensional model of the dental restoration
and/or a three dimensional dental model wherein the dental
restoration must be fitted, displaying a plurality of control
points at the three dimensional model of the dental restoration,
the control points preferably located at the edges of the dental
restoration model and each of said control points providing means
for manually customizing the dental restoration model.
In a further embodiment of the disclosure means for displaying an
arrow at at least one of the control points is provided. The length
of said arrow is preferably determined by a user defined value,
whereby the distance between the dental restoration model and
neighboring objects can be measured or indicated.
Thus, for a dental specialist in the process of creating a dental
restoration this disclosure provides a quick real-time distance
indicator when shaping the dental restoration model. For example
when the dental specialist is varying the width of the dental
restoration model by dragging the model in a control point, an
arrow with origin in the specific control point will, by the length
of said arrow, indicate a certain distance from the dental
restoration model. The length of the arrow is determined by the
user (i.e. the dental specialist in this case), thus if the user in
advance knows that the distance from the dental restoration to the
neighboring tooth should be 1.5 mm, the length of the arrow is
specified to 1.5 mm and when widening the dental restoration model
by dragging a control point, the arrow with origin in said control
point will indicate for the user when the distance to the
neighboring tooth is 1.5 mm. Thus, adjusting a dental restoration
model to the correct width can be provided within seconds by the
system and method according to the disclosure.
In a further embodiment of the disclosure means for displaying a
grid at at least one control point is comprised. The size of the
grid is determined by a user defined value. This grid provides the
user with yet another way of measuring the distance to adjacent
objects. The grid can have the appearance of a square divided into
smaller and preferably equally sized squares, for example the grid
can be a square of height and width of 1 mm divided into 4 squares
of height and width 0.5 mm, or 16 squares of height and width 0.25
mm. An example of a grid can be seen in FIG. 7. Unlike an arrow a
grid can provide an indication of a distance between two unaligned
points, i.e. the grid can provide the orthographic projection
distance between two points.
A second embodiment of the disclosure relates to a system for
designing at least one dental restoration, said system having a
display, such as a computer screen, and comprising: means for
acquiring and displaying a three dimensional model of the dental
restoration and/or a three dimensional dental model wherein the
dental restoration must be fitted, and means for displaying an
arrow adjacent to the edge of the dental restoration model, the
length of said arrow determined by a user defined value, whereby
the distance between the dental restoration model and neighboring
objects can be measured or indicated, and/or means for displaying a
grid adjacent to the edge of the dental restoration model, the size
of said grid determined by a user defined value, whereby the
distance between the dental restoration model and neighboring
objects can be measured or indicated.
Correspondingly the disclosure relates to a method for designing at
least one dental restoration at a display, a display such as a
computer screen, said method comprising the steps of: acquiring and
displaying a three dimensional model of the dental restoration
and/or a three dimensional dental model wherein the dental
restoration must be fitted, and displaying an arrow adjacent to the
dental restoration model, the length of said arrow determined by a
user defined value, whereby the distance between the dental
restoration model and neighboring objects can be measured or
indicated, and/or displaying a grid adjacent to the dental
restoration model, the size of said grid determined by a user
defined value, whereby the distance to neighboring objects can be
indicated.
Preferably the arrow and/or the grid is located at the edge of the
dental restoration model, preferably pointing towards a neighboring
object. Naturally the arrow and/or the grid may also be displayed
adjacent to, preferably at the edge of, a neighboring object (such
as the dental model).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
If each control point of the dental restoration model is showing an
arrow or a grid, a confusing picture will be provided to the user.
Thus in a preferred embodiment of the invention an arrow or a grid
of a control point is only displayed under certain circumstances,
preferably when the control point is activated. In a preferred
embodiment activation of a control point is provided when the mouse
cursor is close to a control point. "Close to" in the meaning of
within a certain number of pixels on the screen and/or within a
certain distance from the control point. Thus, an arrow or a grid
of a control point is preferably only visible when the mouse marker
is close to said control point. In another embodiment of the
invention an arrow or a grid is only visible when the mouse marker
is close to the origin of said arrow or grid.
In specific embodiments of the invention an arrow or grid is only
visible when the mouse cursor is within a distance of preferably 10
pixels from a corresponding control point and/or the origin of said
arrow or grid, such as within a distance of 100 pixels, such as
within a distance of 80 pixels, such as within a distance of 60
pixels, such as within a distance of 40 pixels, such as within a
distance of 30 pixels, such as within a distance of 20 pixels, such
as within a distance of 15 pixels, such as within a distance of 12
pixels, such as within a distance of 8 pixels, such as within a
distance of 6 pixels, such as within a distance of 5 pixels, such
as within a distance of 4 pixels, such as within a distance of 3
pixels, such as within a distance of 2 pixels, such as within a
distance of 1 pixel from a corresponding control point and/or the
origin of said arrow or grid.
The length of an arrow or the size of a grid can be defined by the
user, e.g. by a graphical menu. However, means for varying the
length of an arrow or the size of a grid can advantageously be
provided to the user simultaneous with an activation of a control
point. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the system the length of
an arrow or the size of a grid can be adjusted when a control point
is activated. This adjustment can preferably be provided by means
of user interaction, such as a screen pointing tool action, e.g. by
turning the scroll wheel of the mouse. In this case a specific
revolution of the scroll wheel is transferred to a specific
increase or decrease of the length of the arrow or the size of the
grid. For example a revolution of 5 degrees of the scroll wheel
could correspond to a change in 0.1 mm in the length of an arrow or
the size of a grid. Correspondingly for other types of screen
pointing tools with or without variable buttons, scroll wheels
and/or the equivalents of that. For practical reasons the numerical
value of the length of the arrow or the size of the grid may be
displayed to the user on the screen concurrently with the user
interaction, e.g. the user can see the numerical value of the
length of an arrow while turning the scroll wheel of the mouse.
When customizing the dental restoration model in a dental model it
might be necessary to both expand, tilt and rotate the dental
restoration model. A solution where each control point has only one
functionality (e.g. the functionality of "rotation") requires a
great number of control points on the dental restoration model,
possibly creating a confusing Graphical User Interface (GUI) for
the user. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the
functionality of at least one control point is variable, i.e. at
least one of the control points has more than one function and the
user can shift between these functions. Shifting the functionality
of a control point can be provided in numerous ways in the GUI
(e.g. by means of menus, buttons and/or the like). However, for the
user a quick shift in functionality is advantageous, preferably
without moving the mouse away from the control point, i.e. the user
can preferably change the functionality of a control point when
said control point is activated. For practical reasons the specific
functionality of a control point can be indicated by a symbol on
the screen to ease the user interaction. E.g. a specific symbol
near a control point corresponds to a specific current
functionality of the control point. Examples of functionality
symbols are illustrated in FIG. 14.
Furthermore, the functionality of a control point can preferably be
changed by some specific activation of the mouse. A known specific
activation is the "double-click" of a mouse button. Another
specific activation is a "quick click" on a mouse button. By a
"quick click" is understood a click on a mouse button executed
within a certain time interval, for example with 0.5 seconds. I.e.
the mouse button is activated in a time period less than the
specified time interval. If the click execution is slower (i.e. the
mouse button is activated in a time period longer than the
specified time interval) nothing will happen. The time interval may
be predefined and/or may be specified by a user. This "quick click"
feature greatly enhances the dental restoration modeling experience
for the user. Within seconds the dental restoration model can be
dragged, widened, tilted and/or rotated by just few clicks on the
mouse.
However, not all possible functionalities of a control point are
always relevant. For example when the dental model and the dental
restoration model are seen from the side. In this case a rotation
of the dental restoration around the long axis is irrelevant to the
user. And when a dental restoration model is seen from the top a
variation of the height of the dental restoration is also
irrelevant for the user. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the
invention the functionality of at least one control point is
depending on the orientation of the dental restoration model. I.e.,
orientation in the meaning of the view angle of the dental
restoration model seen by the user.
The orientation of the dental model and the dental restoration
model is also relevant in other circumstances. The user will
typically shape the dental restoration model when viewed along with
the dental model. However, because the dental restoration is
typically located between adjacent teeth the dental model can block
the view of the dental restoration model for the user for certain
view angles. Thus, the display of at least a part of the dental
model is preferably depending of the orientation of the dental
model, i.e. the view angle for the user. This dental restoration
view blocking can preferably be solved by letting at least part of
the dental model be invisible for certain orientations, preferably
the invisible part of the dental model is the part that is between
the user and the dental restoration model. Thereby the dental
restoration model can be seen by the user for any orientation of
the dental model.
In one embodiment of the invention the control points of the dental
restoration model are a central part of the system. However, the
appearance of all the control points can disturb the image of the
dental restoration model when trying to create the perfect fit into
the dental model. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the
control points are only visible when the mouse marker (cursor) is
within a specific distance from the dental restoration model. This
specific distance can be a specific number of pixels on the screen
or a specific distance related to the dental model and the dental
restoration model. The dental model is a replica of a patient's
teeth, thus the specific dimensions of the dental model are known
exactly and at least one coordinate system is embedded in the
system according to the disclosure. Thus, it can be specified in
the system that the control points are only visible when the mouse
marker is within a distance of a specific number of
millimeters.
In specific embodiments of the invention the control points are
only visible when the mouse cursor is within a distance of
preferably 10 pixels from the dental restoration model, such as
within a distance of 500 pixels, such as within a distance of 300
pixels, such as within a distance of 200 pixels, such as within a
distance of 100 pixels, such as within a distance of 80 pixels,
such as within a distance of 60 pixels, such as within a distance
of 40 pixels, such as within a distance of 30 pixels, such as
within a distance of 20 pixels, such as within a distance of 15
pixels, such as within a distance of 12 pixels, such as within a
distance of 8 pixels, such as within a distance of 6 pixels, such
as within a distance of 5 pixels, such as within a distance of 4
pixels, such as within a distance of 3 pixels, such as within a
distance of 2 pixels, such as within a distance of 1 pixel from the
dental restoration model.
A situation where the user is working on at least two dental
restoration models in the same dental model can occur. This can for
example be the case when two adjacent abutments are being designed.
In this case the appearance of control points in both dental
restoration models can confuse the image for the user. This can
preferably be overcome by only showing the control points on the
dental restoration model closest to the mouse marker.
A significant part of a dental restoration may be located below the
gingival, especially when the dental restoration mode is an
abutment model. Thus, when customizing a dental restoration model
in a dental model, a part of the dental restoration model is hidden
by the gingival of the dental model. It was previously indicated
that if the dental model is blocking the view of the dental
restoration model the blocking part of the dental model would
advantageously become invisible to the user. However this is not a
good solution in all cases, because if the dental model was
invisible when trying to shape the dental restoration model to fit
into the gingival of dental model, a perfect fit would be almost
impossible. This can be solved by changing the transparency of the
dental model. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the
transparency of the dental model is variable. The transparency of
the dental model is preferably automatically adjusted when needed,
for example when the mouse cursor is close to a control point below
the surface of the dental model. This is very helpful to the user,
because the entire dental restoration model and the control points
are thereby visible and the dental restoration model can be shaped
to fit a dental model that is still visible but transparent. The
transparency can for example be adjusted to 50%, where 0%
transparency is the normal image, i.e. see through is impossible,
and 100% transparency is totally invisible.
The systems and methods according to the disclosure furthermore
regard the embodiments wherein the dental restoration is an implant
abutment, a coping, a crown and/or any combination of these.
Correspondingly, the disclosure regards the embodiments wherein a
dental restoration model is an abutment model, a coping model, a
crown model or any combination of these.
The disclosure furthermore includes a computer program product
having a computer readable medium, said computer program product
comprising means for carrying out any of the listed methods.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The disclosure will now be explained in greater details with
reference to the figures showing embodiments of the invention where
the dental restoration is one or more abutments.
FIG. 1 shows a 3D model of a dental restoration model, in this case
an implant abutment with 6 control points, the mouse marker is
close to the abutment,
FIG. 2 shows a 3D model of the abutment in FIG. 1, but the control
points are hidden because the mouse marker is not near the
abutment,
FIG. 3 shows two abutments with control points on only the left
abutment where the mouse marker is located,
FIG. 4 shows an abutment surrounded and partly hidden by a dental
model,
FIG. 5 shows the abutment in FIG. 4; when the mouse marker is close
to the abutment the dental model becomes transparent whereby
control points beneath the surface of the dental model become
visible,
FIG. 6 shows an arrow in one of the control points, the arrow
having a user defined length indicating the distance between an
implant abutment and the adjacent tooth in the surrounding dental
model,
FIGS. 7 & 8 show a grid in a control point, the grid having
user defined partitions into squares indicating the distance
between an implant abutment and the adjacent tooth (FIG. 7) and the
gingival ridge (FIG. 8) respectively,
FIG. 9 shows an abutment and the surrounding dental model,
FIG. 10 is a rotated view of FIG. 9 where the part of the dental
model obstructing a user the view of the abutment is invisible,
FIG. 11 shows an abutment surrounded by a dental model and a grid
at one of the lower control points with a translational
functionality, and
FIG. 12 shows the abutment in FIG. 13 rotated to a top view where
the control point, that in FIG. 13 was a translational control
point and displaying a grid when activated, has now changed
functionality to become a rotational control point because of the
changed point of view.
FIG. 13 shows a close up of a control point in FIG. 12,
FIG. 14 shows four views of the same abutment being customized, the
control points in the top part shift functionality, and
FIG. 15 is a screen shot of the system according to one embodiment
of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A 3D model of an implant abutment is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When
the finished abutment is inserted into the mouth of the patient,
the threaded part 5 of the abutment goes into the jaw of the
patient with the collar 6 just below the gingival. A crown is glued
onto the abutment. In FIG. 2 the sides 7, 7' and the top part 8 of
the abutment is indicated. In FIG. 1 an abutment model
corresponding to the abutment model in FIG. 2 is shown along with a
plurality of control points, 2, 2', 2'', 3, 3', 4. The control
points are located along the edges of the abutment model, i.e.
round the collar 2, 2', 2'', at the sides 3, 3' and at the top 4 of
the abutment model. The control points are visible because the
mouse cursor 1 is near the abutment model. In most of the figures
the mouse cursor 1 is represented by a white arrow pointing up and
left.
FIG. 3 shows two adjacent abutment models, however control points
are only visible at the left abutment model because the mouse
cursor 1 is located at said left abutment model.
FIG. 4 shows an abutment model surrounded by a dental model wherein
the abutment model must be fitted. The mouse cursor 1 is in the
bottom left corner of FIG. 4. Part of the abutment model is hidden
below the dental model, e.g. the collar of the abutment model is
invisible. FIG. 5 shows the abutment and dental model of FIG. 4
when the mouse cursor 1 is near the abutment model. The control
points are now visible, also the three control points 2, 2', 2''
round the collar of the abutment model, and the transparency of the
dental model has changed whereby the previously hidden parts of the
abutment model is now visible through the dental model.
FIG. 6 shows an abutment model surrounded by a dental model with
visible control points. The mouse cursor is very close to one of
the control points along the left side of the abutment, whereby an
arrow 9 is visible. The length of the arrow 9 can be defined by the
user, the length defined as the length from the origin to the tip
of the arrow, the origin being the edge of the abutment model at
the control point. The arrow 9 can thereby indicate a distance from
the abutment to an object. In FIG. 6 the arrow 9 is indicating the
distance from the abutment to the adjacent tooth 11. Thus when
customizing the abutment model, e.g. widening the abutment model by
dragging the model in a control point, the arrow 9 can in real-time
(i.e. concurrently with dragging the model) indicate the distance
to the neighboring tooth.
FIG. 7 shows a close up of an abutment model in a partly
transparent dental model. The mouse cursor is close to a control
point at the collar of the abutment model thereby initiating the
display of the grid 10. The size of the grid 10 is preferably
defined by the user, the size being the length of the sides of the
grid. The arrow 9 shown in FIG. 6 can indicate direct distances,
whereas the grid 10 can indicate projected distances. For example
the collar of an abutment must be a certain distance below the
gingival. However the gingival might not be directly above the
collar of the abutment. By the grid 10 shown in FIG. 7 the
orthographic projection from the top of the gingival between teeth
to the abutment collar represented by a control point is indicated.
Another example is shown in FIG. 8 where a grid is shown to
indicate the orthographically projected distance between the
abutment collar represented by a control point and the gingival
ridge 12.
FIG. 9 shows an abutment model surrounded by a dental model. If the
view angle of these models was changed, e.g. by the user, the
dental model would hide the abutment model when seen from the side.
However, as shown in FIG. 10, the system and method according to
the disclosure can provide for that part of the dental model
becomes invisible when blocking the view to the abutment model.
FIG. 11 shows an abutment model displaying a grid at a control
point 2' at the abutment collar and near the mouse cursor. FIG. 12
shows the corresponding abutment model seen from above with the
identical control point 2'. Near said control point 2' is no longer
a grid because a grid would be irrelevant to the customization of
the abutment model when the abutment model is seen from above.
Instead a curved double-arrow 13 is shown near the control point
2'. This can be seen more clearly in FIG. 13, which is a close up
of the control point 2' and the arrow 13 in FIG. 12. By dragging
the control point 2' the abutment model can be rotated. This
rotation can be necessary to align the top ridge of the abutment
model with top ridges of adjacent teeth. Thus, the control point 2'
has different functionalities depending on the orientation, i.e.
the view angle for the user, of the abutment and dental models.
Thereby the necessary number of displayed control points can be
reduced, i.e. simplifying the view for the user and increasing the
user-friendliness.
FIG. 14 shows the same abutment model four times illustrating that
a control point can have different functionalities independent of
the orientation of the abutment model. To the left the control
point at the top of the abutment model has the functionality of
increasing the height of the abutment model. The functionality is
illustrated by a symbol with an arrow pointing up. However by just
a single click on the mouse the functionality of the top control
point in the second picture from the left has changed functionality
to "tilt", i.e. the abutment model can be tilted from side to side
by dragging the control point. The tilt functionality is
illustrated by arrows pointing to each side along the top edge of
the abutment model. In the third picture from the left the abutment
model has been tilted to the left and in the rightmost picture the
functionality of the control point is changed back into variation
of the height. This shift of functionality of a control point could
very well be provided by other means, i.e. a drop down menu in the
GUI or the like. However, by the preferred method of changing the
functionality by a single click with the mouse, the design process
is kept quick and simple, because the user does not have to move
the mouse cursor on the screen, but can just keep the mouse cursor
on one control point.
FIG. 15 is a screenshot example from one embodiment of the
invention showing an abutment model surrounded by a dental model
and a plurality of the menus, buttons and the like, all part of the
GUI of the system. This is normal for any graphics design system.
However, by the system and methods according to the disclosure the
user-friendliness has been improved, because a plurality of
features/tools that would normally be provided or changed by means
of buttons and pull-down menus, in this case is automatically
provided or provided by a few clicks on a mouse button.
* * * * *
References